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Allegedly acting as proxy for law enforcement, intel agencies

Yahoo.com is allegedly spying on its customers and acting as a proxy for U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

According to Wired.com, Yahoo also charges the agencies for the information. That means U.S. citizens’ tax dollars are being used by federal agencies to pay for information gathered in Yahoo’s spying.

A Yahoo customer who asked not to be identified became suspicious of Yahoo’s operations when the image below appeared on his screen while downloading his e-mail.

John Young, who runs the website Cryptome.org, believes the Internet giant is gathering data from customer e-mails for possible disclosure to U. S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

Young says Yahoo has a standard operating procedure for e-mail data mining spelled out in the Yahoo Law Enforcement Compliance Manual. Young has posted a copy of Yahoo’s manual on his Cryptome.com website.

Yahoo and its Washington, D.C.-based legal counsel, Steptoe and Johnson, have not responded to WND requests for comment.

The manual says Yahoo records the IP address of any computer involved in a Yahoo e-mail exchange.

“Every message sent by a Yahoo! mail user contains the originating IP address in the header,” the Yahoo manual says. “That is, Yahoo! records the IP address of the computer that was used to send the email, and Yahoo! inserts that IP address in the header of the message. Accordingly, if law enforcement is seeking to determine the IP address from which a Yahoo! e-mail was sent, Yahoo! will have no additional information other than what is visible in the message itself.”

“In this example, the IP address in brackets corresponds to the computer from which the message was sent,” the manual states.

Section V of the Yahoo compliance guide says:

“Yahoo! generally will accept service of court orders, search warrants, and criminal grand jury or administrative subpoenas for the production of documents by fax from government entities.”

Then there’s this paragraph a few lines later in the same section:

“Yahoo! will ask law enforcement to certify that the prior or delayed notice provisions have been satisfied if contents are sought with legal process other than a Search Warrant.”
“…with legal process other than a Search Warrant.”

An intelligence analyst and private terrorism investigator who asked not to be named, believes this phrase is key in Yahoo’s willingness to turn over e-mail contents to U.S. intelligence agencies.

Young stands by his actions and what he has written about Yahoo’s surveillance. He believes the public material may be a diversion for deeper surveillance.

“What remains unclear is what are other arrangements between Yahoo and law enforcement and intelligence agencies that are not covered by publicly available material. It is more than probable that the publicly available material diverts attention from these other shenanigans,” Young observes.

He adds that other Internet providers are also involved in surveillance.

“Yahoo is not alone in these customer transgressions, the deceptive practices are widespread among telecommunications and IP providers,” Young asserts.

A story on Mathaba.net states, “Cox Communications, SBC, Cingular, Nextel, GTE and other telecoms and Internet service providers,” or ISPs, are involved in federally sanction data collection.

Young also believes media haven’t done a good job reporting the abuses.

“There’s an abysmal neglect of what the ISPs, OS (operating system) producers, network operators, data farmers and search engines are up to with customer data displayed on the computer screen.”

Second Amendment advocates are expressing alarm that the most significant attack on gun rights across the United States in years soon could come in the form of a workplace “safety” regulation under President Obama’s nominee to run the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Obama has nominated David Michaels, a George Washington University professor and the chief of the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy, which reportedly partially is funded by George Soros.

“The controversial OSHA nominee and left-leaning public health advocate also seems to have strong views on firearms,” wrote Walter Olson at Overlawyered.com.

“That’s by no means irrelevant to the agenda of an agency like OSHA, because once you start viewing private gun ownership as a public health menace, it begins to seem logical to use the powers of government to urge or even require employers to forbid workers from possessing guns on company premises, up to and including parking lots, ostensibly for the protection of co-workers.”

WND has reported on Obama’s czars and has published a Whistleblower magazine issue on the “shadow government” officials gradually being installed in positions of power in Washington.

Two already have met problems. Green jobs czar Van Jones quit his post after reporting, largely by WND, of his self-described communist beliefs and his belief that the Bush administration was behind the 9/11 attacks. Also, White House communications director Anita Dunn, who launched a verbal assault on Fox News as an “arm” of the GOP, reportedly will step down this month.

Now comes Michaels, who although he would have to be approved by the U.S. Senate, comes with views that concern Second Amendment advocates.

Only two years ago, Michaels condemned proposals in Georgia and Florida that would have allowed workers to carry guns to and from their places of work for protection.

He continued in his 2007 writing to laud the ability of the federal government to respond by creating new laws to ban activities or behaviors.

David Michaels

“When the toll of preventable and pointless deaths or injuries from any single event or related events becomes so great, or particular aspects of the story bring it to the public’s attention, our nation invariably demands more and stronger regulation, not less,” Michaels wrote at the time.

“We saw this recently with the disaster at West Virginia’s Sago Mine, when a mine explosion and failed rescue attempts resulted in the deaths of 14 miners. Within months, Congress passed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act,” he said.

“This is not true only of recent times. On the heels of the Elixir Sulfanilamide scandal, in which a medicine manufactured with antifreeze killed scores of children, Congress passed the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, requiring for the first time that pharmaceutical manufacturers prove the safety of their products before marketing them,” he continued.

“It’s hard to count all of the lives that this Act has saved, but one example stands out: The United States avoided the plague of thalidomide-related birth defects that ravaged Europe in the early 1960s as a result of controls granted the FDA under that legislation. A regulatory hero, FDA medical officer Dr. Frances Kelsey, had blocked U.S. licensing of thalidomide on the basis of inadequate safety data,” he wrote.

“In the U.S., we see an average of one gun-related homicide every 45 minutes, or 32 each day,” he wrote. “These are usually treated as isolated incidents, until a horrific event like the Virginia Tech massacre reawakens the public and strengthens public health advocates who are attempting to prevent gun violence.”

At RedCounty.com, writer Bryan Myrick noted that the Washington Times has urged the Senate to reject Michaels’ nomination.

“OSHA is an agency that already has a well-earned reputation for abusing its authority and reaching beyond its stated purpose. Add one zealot and it easily becomes an oppressive entity with immense power over all American businesses, large and small. At a time in which America’s businesses desperately need the freedom to responsibly pursue earning profits and put workers back on the payroll, the chemical potency of combining Obama’s left-wing agenda with an anti-business zealot manager at OSHA could prove toxic,” Myrick wrote.

The first vote on Michaels’ nomination already was canceled by the Senate Committee on Health, Labor, Education and Pensions.

At the Examiner, gun rights writer David Codrea warned that some “public health” excuse could be used for imposing draconian restrictions on gun owners.

He cited the comment from a director of the CDC’s National Center for Injury Control and Prevention that, “We need to revolutionize the way we look at guns, like what we did with cigarettes. Now it [sic] is dirty, deadly, and banned.”

“Does anyone doubt that Michaels will bring a similarly creative agenda to apply through regulatory measures under the guise of ‘occupational safety and health?'” he asked.

The BD Law firm in Washington posted a statement that Michaels is expected to bring major changes if approved. The law firm quoted Michaels’ writing from earlier this year that OSHA “badly needs a change in direction and philosophy” and it should include a “campaign to change the workplace culture of safety.”

The National Gun Rights organization called him an “anti-gunner.”

Columnist Dave Kopel at the Independence Institute in Colorado said, “Plenty of Obama’s administration appointees have a longer record of anti-gun activism than David Michaels, but perhaps none of them have the ability to make such a dramatic, instant change in the lives of law-abiding gun owners.

“By its own fiat, OSHA could outlaw the possession of firearms in every workplace and every employee parking lot in the United States,” he wrote.

“That David Michaels is anti-gun is undisputed,” he continued.

“The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution means that a valid federal law or regulation wins in any conflict with a state law. Many states have laws that protect the rights of employees to store lawful firearms in parking lots at work. If an OSHA regulation prohibiting such storage existed, the federal regulation would trump state law,” he said.

“Under Michaels, OSHA could write a regulation stating that it is illegal for any business to allow guns in the workplace or in parking lots. No handgun could be locked in the trunk of a car, even if the owner has a Right-to-Carry license. No rifle could be stored in the car, even if there’s no ammunition around and the gun will be dropped off at the gunsmith after work,” he said.

Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, had supported Washington, D.C.’s ban on handguns before it was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. And since Obama has been in office, he’s already advocated for a treaty that would require a federal license for hunters to reload their ammunition, has expressed a desire to ban “assault” weapons, has seen a plan to require handgun owners to submit to mental health evaluations and sparked a rush on ammunition purchases with his history of anti-gun positions.

Besides its reporting on Van Jones and Anita Dunn, WND previously reported on the controversy over the appointment of Kevin Jennings, a homosexual rights promoter, to oversee the office of school safety in the Department of Education.

Regulatory czar Cass Sunstein also has, among other issues, stated that marriage discriminates against singles

The majority of voters in Maine rejected a law on Tuesday that allowed gay and lesbian couples to wed.

After months of campaigning and millions of dollars in ads, traditional marriage supporters claimed victory at the ballot box with 53 percent of the vote.

“This has never been about gay rights,” said Marc Mutty, chairman of Stand for Marriage Maine, according to the Los Angeles Times. “It’s about marriage, and this is reaffirmation by the people of Maine that marriage between men and women is special and unique.”

The state law legalizing same-sex marriage was passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. John Baldacci in May. Before the law could go into effect in September, opponents submitted enough signatures for a “people’s veto,” subjecting the measure to repeal.

While gay rights advocates were hoping to make history by affirming same-sex marriage by popular vote, their votes came up short on Tuesday.

“Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of Maine voters stood for equality, but in the end, it wasn’t enough,” said Jesse Connolly, campaign manager for No on 1/Protect Maine Equality.

He assured supporters that their efforts would not stop and that they were in this for the long haul “because in the end, this has always been about love and family and that will always be something worth fighting for.”

Whenever given the opportunity, U.S. voters have upheld the traditional definition of marriage. Constitutional amendments affirming marriage as between one man and one woman have been passed in 29 states in the past 10 years and statutes to the same effect have been adopted in another 15 states, according to the Institute on Religion and Democracy.

Recent polls have also shown that the majority of American voters continue to oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage. According to the Gallup Poll, 57 percent of Americans say marriages between same-sex couples should not be recognized by the law as valid while 40 percent say such marriages should be legal.

Same-sex marriage is currently legal in five states – Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire – all of which passed the laws through legislation or court rulings.

Todd Friel, a spokesman at Way of the Master Radio, told WND that while “Gospel tracts usually turn out to be litter faster than a candy wrapper,” the opposite is true with these Gospel messages.

Even an event such as the recent incident in Pittsburgh when police arrested a man who handed a $1 million bill tract to a grocery store cashier generates a way for the biblical message to be spread.

Officers in that case reported the bill originated with the Dallas-based ministry, but the man was arrested after he flew into a rage, slamming an electronic funds-transfer machine into a counter and reaching for a scanner gun after the clerk refused to accept the tract as money and the manager confiscated it.

Friel said he sometimes wonders why a Gospel tract with a picture President Grover Cleveland and a message of salvation gets so much attention.

“That’s exactly the question we’re asking ourselves,” he told WND. “And with all the different phony bills out there, why does this particular one seem to get so much attention?

“Maybe it taps into that human desire for money,” he said, but whatever the reason, the ministry is happy to print and distribute them as fast as possible, based on its ministry mission statement.

Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron

“One hundred fifty thousand people die every 24 hours – most without the Savior,” that statement says. “We are deeply concerned that so few Christians reach out to the lost. Statistics show that this is as low as five percent. One of the reasons for this is that many don’t feel equipped. As a ministry, our sole purpose is to inspire and equip Christians – to teach them how to share the gospel simply, effectively, biblically … the way Jesus did.”

The million dollar question: Will you go to Heaven? Here’s a quick test. Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, or used God’s name in vain? Jesus said, “Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart.” Have you looked with lust? Will you be guilty on Judgment Day? If you have done those things God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart. The Bible warns that if you are guilty you will end up in Hell. That’s not God’s will. He sent His Son to suffer and die on the cross for you. Jesus took your punishment upon Himself -“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Then He rose from the dead and defeated death. Please, repent (turn from sin) today and trust in Jesus, and God will grant you everlasting life. Then read your Bible daily and obey it.

The publishers hope the demand for the tract is because of the message. At a minimum, they know the message is getting distributed.

“The day that this story broke – God has a funny way of working things – people bought half a million of these tracts,” Friel said. “Maybe they were afraid they’d all be confiscated.”

He said the ministry, which produces more than 24 million of all of its tracts annually, has discovered that the million dollar bill has staying power.

“At a baseball game, I’ve almost been mauled when I start handing them out,” Friel said. “People actually want them. I’ve been stopped at Customs and they see them in my luggage and everyone wants one.”

He said he’s also seen them posted in bank windows, stashed in tip jars and he’s heard from Muslims in Pakistan who have gotten them and seen a positive change in their lives.

The tracts have been in the news before: About a year ago the U.S. Secret Service seized a stock of the tracts in Texas, alleging they were counterfeit, even though since 1969 the highest legal denomination in the United States has been the $100 bill. That case currently is on appeal.

Friel said the message will continue, no matter what the outcome.

“If the government takes these million dollar bills, the ministry has a Billion Dollar bill tract that is in full color, and very popular. If those are seized the ministry has plans to get a Brazilian Dollar Bill printed, with a picture of the Brazilian president on it,” he said.

So far, they’ve also been subjected to confiscation in Nevada and California.

Jim Thomas, who with his wife Charlene had just finished an evangelism training program at their church, told WND he was handing out the tracts near an escalator at a downtown Los Angeles mall “and everything was going very well.”

Then, he said, a man approached him and told him that “there’s a problem here.”

He introduced himself as a Secret Service agent.

“He began to ask me questions, like ‘have you read the rules and regulations about bills similar to currency?'” Thomas said. “So he just kind of informed me what I could do to be in compliance.”

In a second lawsuit challenging Barack Obama’s “natural born” citizenship, a Washington resident is demanding officials review original or certified birth documents for the Democratic Party presidential candidate.

Steven Marquis of Fall City, Wash., filed suit Oct. 9 in Washington State Superior Court, calling for Secretary of State Sam Reed to determine whether Obama is a citizen before Election Day. Marquis released a statement saying the state has the authority to “prevent the wholesale disenfranchisement of voters” who might have otherwise had the opportunity to choose a qualified candidate should records show Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen.

“At this point, Mr. Obama has not allowed independent or official access to his birth records nor supporting hospital records,” Marquis wrote. “The Hawaii Health Department has violated Federal law by ignoring formal Freedom of Information requests for the same.”

“Mr. Obama failed to respond to the District Court’s request to produce or allow access to the official documents (should they exist) and instead filed a motion to dismiss arguing the Plaintiff had no ‘standing’ or right to know,” he said. “This non-response as of 9/24/2008 in Federal court casts doubt on the veracity of the electoral system and is the principal reason for this lawsuit.”

Marquis said his late entry of the lawsuit is due to Obama’s “delay and subsequent non response to reasonable request for valid certificates.”

He indicated that his requests for certification of the birth documents were rejected by Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State. Marquis requested an injunction to force the office to confirm Obama’s U.S. citizenship or remove his name from Washington ballots. He said the agency is “specifically charged with certifying and guaranteeing the veracity of official documents and overseeing the elections to wit the people’s confidence in the fundamental aspect of democracy is maintained.”

However, Marquis continued, “To date, in this regard, Secretary of State Sam Reed has not carried out that fundamental duty.”

Students who support “gay” marriage are furious, claiming they have collected 450 signatures to recall the eight students who voted for the resolution, the Sacramento Bee reported.

If the signatures are validated, the college will hold a special election within 10 days to decide whether the students will be recalled.

Former student representative Yuri Popov spoke in favor of the resolution at American River College. He told WND the student association has a right to take a position on issues that affect education policy.

“We have classes at community colleges that teach about marriage,” Popov said. “Some people don’t know that. There are psychology classes that teach family dynamics and about everything from childhood to marriage. If Proposition 8 isn’t passed, there will be a redefinition of marriage that will be taught in these classes.”

Interclub Council President Tim Richney is head of an organization that oversees all campus clubs. He is leading the effort to remove council members who supported the resolution.

“We are against discrimination and hatred, and we want them out of office,” he said.

However, Popov said Richney’s group has had a history of being divisive and pushing homosexuality onto students.

“Even before the California Supreme Court decided for same-sex marriage in California, the Interclub Council put on a Valentine’s marriage ceremony where they actually ‘married’ homosexual couples,” he said. “They gave them ‘certificates.'”

Also, he said the campus GLBT club has been promoting homosexuality with risqué material.

“They put up very obscene and posters on campus of pornography,” Popov said. “A lot of people didn’t like that.”

Councilman Vladimir Musorivschi, 25, confirmed that students are experiencing an increase in pressure from homosexual groups. He told the Bee the college’s “gay” and lesbian students “influence us here right on campus – they do propaganda for homosexuality in front of the cafeteria.”

He said of his vote: “It was hard, but it was a really important step. I feel a responsibility to protect our traditional family values – we should think about our future generations.”

Before the vote, Councilman Viktor Chiban said, “I want to tell the council not to be intimidated by the comments. The homosexuals are masters of presenting themselves as a civil rights issue. It’s not a civil rights issue; it’s personal choice.”

Several of the students in the audience yelled profanities at Chiban.

“They were cursing, ‘F— you!'” Popov said. “They were people who didn’t support Prop. 8. They were disruptive, and they couldn’t contain themselves, so they were escorted out of the building during the council meeting.”

Popov said he has never seen any discrimination or hostility toward the GLBT club, but he said it complains that Christian clubs are anti-“gay” because their fliers contain quotes from scripture.

“They try to paint the opposition as this homophobic, bigoted, prejudiced group of people who are always oppressing them,” he said. “Even when they had the same-sex marriage ceremonies, the Christian club never actually addressed that issue specifically. But they just assume that because we’re Christian we are opposed to homosexuality, which is a logical assumption to make.”

“Gay” advocates chanted “2,4,6,8 we are here to stop the hate; 2,4,6,8 we are here to stop Prop. 8!” and one held a sign that said, “Lesbians are My Posse!”

A 19-year-old lesbian named Elizabeth Welsh told the council its resolution “creates a bad environment for students to learn.”

According to the Bee, student Joy Cordova said, “My heart hurts. How dare you tell someone you can’t love another human being!”

A journalism major named Inna Gritsak,19, explained what she believed to be the true pupose of the proposed amendment: “Prop. 8 is about preserving the union between men and women and allows citizens of California to say no to judicial tyranny.”

Popov told WND he would like the event to show that young college students can have a voice in politics, and they don’t have to give into pressure to support same-sex marriage.

“We just want to encourage the voters of California and show them that the next generation is not completely on the bandwagon of the ‘gay’ rights movement,” he said. “We want to preserve marriage between a man and a woman, and we want education to be what education should be. We encourage any other schools in the state to stand up and fight for what they believe in.”

The total in the 2009 report is up one-third from the 195 corporations so honored in 2008, according to the Human Rights Campaign, which explained that now an estimated nine million workers “are protected from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression because of their employers’ policies on diversity & inclusion, training, health care, and domestic partnership benefits.”

The report notes that when the evaluation was begun in 2002, there were 13 corporations with such perfect scores – a total of 100 out of 100 possible – and that rose to 26 in 2003, 56 in 2004, 101 in 2005, 138 in 2006 and 195 in 2008.

The 2009 index “shows that corporate America understands that a diverse workforce is critical to remaining successful and competitive,” Joe Solmonese, the foundation chief, said in a prepared statement posted on the organization’s website. “In the absence of federal law that prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, it is up to employers to take the lead and implement policies that ensure all their employees are protected.”

Target’s target logo. The company is among 259 given a perfect score for its advocacy for homosexual “rights”

Officials from companies honored in the ranking of nearly 600 companies overall were enthusiastic.

“We are thrilled to share this with our LGBT employees and the loyal customers and diverse communities we serve,” said Denise Lynn, an American Airlines vice president.

“Our 100 percent score on the HRC Corporate Equality Index gives us all a shot in the arm and explains why I love the job I do,” added Betty Young, an LGBT marketing team member for the airline.

“Barnes & Noble was one of the first retailers to offer domestic partner benefits to our booksellers more than 13 years ago,” boasted Michelle Smith, a vice president for her company.

“We are extremely proud to accept this distinction in recognition of Chevron’s diversity and inclusion efforts, and the outstanding contributions our GLBT employees and the Chevron Pride Employee Network have made to the company,” said spokesman Joe Laymon.

“Recognition always pushes Dell to move to the next level and so we’ll continue our efforts advocating for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered equality,” said Dell vice president Gil Casellas. “It’s part of our global diversity efforts.”

The rating “affirms our position that ING has created a welcoming environment,” said ING North American Insurance Corp. chief Tom McInerney.

Wilson Dunnington, director of inclusion for J.C. Penney, said the company’s perfect score recognizes the company’s “inclusive and diverse environment.”

“We believe it is a true honor to receive a perfect ranking on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index for the second year in a row,” said David Windley, head of the company’s human resources.

“Shell is pleased to have achieved a perfect score on the CEI-rating. This was a priority for us because it further demonstrates our commitment to inclusiveness in the workplace,” said Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil Company. “A 100-percent rating helps us to better attract, recruit and retain diverse talent to contribute to our overall business success.”

“Often we are singled out for discrimination and, very often, job termination, solely because of our gender change or gender expression regardless of work history. The significant increase in companies achieving 100 percent on the CEI shows that the business-employee climate is improving, but we know there is still significant progress to be made,” said Meghan Stabler, a member of the HRC’s business council.

The report also reveals that more than four dozen companies “have taken significant and substantial steps to remove discrimination from at least one of their health insurance plans.”

The organization said its other major findings are the of 255 Fortune 500 corporations included, 120 got perfect scores, and the biggest leap for this year was among law firms, which were included in the assessment for the first time in 2006. Those rose from 13 in 2006 to 64 for this report.

The Human Rights Campaign seeks “fundamental fairness and equality” by advocating for the “rights” of people in alternative sexual lifestyles.

A California-based legal defense organization has expressed outrage that one of the nation’s largest natural gas and electric utility companies has donated $250,000 to squash the state’s voter-led drive to constitutionally define marriage as between one man and one woman, known as Proposition 8.

The Pacific Justice Institute, which specializes in the defense of religious freedom and civil liberties, has filed a complaint against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which provides utilities to approximately 15 million Californians.

“Proposition 8 has no relevance to supply and distribution of energy services to its customers,” states the complaint filed with the California Public Utilities Commission. “As a corporation which has been given near monopoly status, (PG&E’s) use of money extracted from customers to influence an item appearing on the ballot that does not promote the welfare of customers relative to energy is an abuse of trust.”

The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is also advocating through the website NOtoPGE.com that customers switch utility providers in protest of PG&E’s action.

“There is no reason why pro-marriage homes, small businesses, corporations, apartment owners, schools or churches should continue to support a company like PG&E that is so opposed to the preservation of marriage,” said PJI President Brad Dacus in a press release.

According to a Los Angeles Times report, PG&E donated $250,000 in July to the No on Proposition 8 campaign, a coalition of people and organizations working to stop California voters from making homosexual marriage unconstitutional.

Geoff Kors, president of Equality California, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) lobbyist group, announced at the time, “We are thrilled to partner with PG&E.”

PG&E’s website announces that it’s the company’s goal “to be the leading corporate citizen in the diverse communities we serve” and boasts of $18.3 million given to charitable organizations in 2007 with a goal of $18.7 million in giving in 2008.

The website also states, “Our goal is that 75 percent of our total grant-making dollars assist underserved communities. In general, this includes: Persons with low incomes, people of color, seniors, the disabled and the LGBT community.”